Before becoming an attorney, my paper route was the second best job I ever had. As a youngster, I delivered the Indianapolis Star early every morning for nearly five years, starting at the age of 10, toting the canvas newspaper bag on foot or on my trusty orange Schwinn 10-speed. I had about 40 daily customers in my neighborhood and as many as 120 took the big, thick Sunday paper. That job gave me the opportunity to know nearly every one of my neighbors, from all walks of life. There were teachers, welders, mechanics, nurses, a state trooper, a retired mayor, the high school baseball coach, a scout master, a beautician, a coin collector, an artist, a minister, retirees, single parents, grandparents, students, and all of them had a different story to tell, a different life lessen to impart and share. To this day, I’m thankful for my paper route. I’m sure it’s the reason I only represent individual people and tell their stories as an attorney. It’s the best job that I’ve ever had.
Frederick N. Hadley is a Lafayette, Indiana native with Midwestern sensibilities and values, a 1984 Purdue University graduate, with degrees in Liberal Arts, Sociology, and Persuasion, and a 1990 graduate of Ohio Northern University’s Claude W. Pettit College of Law. He is admitted to practice law in Indiana, North Carolina, and before the United States Supreme Court.